Such a Pretty Girl

Just finished this one, it's Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess.

About and Thoughts on Book:

They promised Meredith nine years of safety, but only gave her three.

Her father was supposed to be locked up until Meredith turned eighteen. She thought she had to grow up, get out, and start a new life. But Meredith is only fifteen, and today her father is coming home from prison.

Today her time has run out.
From B&N

Meredith's father use to be a respected man in their town. He use to coach little league, then he got put in prison because of Meredith. Because Meredith was sent to the hospital and told them everything she could remember even though her mother told her not to. Her mother wouldn't listen to the truth. She wanted to live in her delusional world that her husband actually loves her, actually wanted to be with her, and not their daughter. The truth comes out about Meredith's father and now the whole town knows and hates him, except Meredith's mother. The one person she should definitely be able to count on. Meredith was suppose to get to be able to be far gone by the time her father got out of jail, but they let him out on parole early. She thinks that maybe she can handle it if her boyfriend, Andy, a boy also abused by her father is there with her, living in the condo close to hers. But his mother decides to go to Iowa to get help for Andy with his paralysis. Now Meredith decides that she wants real justice, she wants her father to go to jail for good. She knows he'll try again, it's just a matter of time.

This is a short novel that can be easily read in a matter of hours, which is exactly what I did. It's wonderfully written and fast paced. I couldn't believe the way the mother acted in this novel. She wanted to be with her husband more than she loved her own child. I also couldn't believe that they were allowing Meredith's father anywhere near her. He wasn't suppose to be alone with Meredith, but her mother never listened to that rule. She hardly cared about her own daughter. She acted more jealous of her than like a parent. I've read books and watched movies where this sort of thing happens. Where wives will believe anything their husbands tell them because they can't stand to be without them. This book helped me to further realize how much the justice system needs to be improved. Yet the ending is really purely stunning. Not at all what I expected. I did expect something to happen similar to what happened, but it still caught me off guard. It's an excellent read.

Alisha